ARABELLA • Alex Turner

NINE

~

Over the next few days, Alex and Arabella texted back and forth.

Even though Arabella had been wasted towards the end of the party, she vaguely remembered asking for Alex's number and praised the confidence of her drunk self. After all, she would never have been so bold sober.

Though intermittent due to her uni schedule, their conversations only intensified her feelings for him. He was kind and funny and down to earth, and she found it especially endearing that he tended to use overly descriptive language even over text.

Between classes and tutor meetings and library sessions, she found herself constantly checking her phone for messages from the man.

Sophie had been ecstatic when she found out that Alex and Arabella were texting. She had almost damaged poor Arabella's eardrums with her screeching and had then proceeded to make some ridiculous comparisons between herself and Cupid.

By the time Friday rolled around, Arabella was eager for the weekend to start.

Despite the fact that dissertations were now a distant memory, she and Sabrina still had essays to write and lectures to attend.

It was when she was leaving one such lecture that Arabella received another text from Alex. Sabrina had ditched her and their 9AM in favour of staying in bed for a well-deserved lie in, so she was alone on campus.

Arabella fought the scarf around her neck to reach the phone in her pocket, buried underneath layers of clothing. When she finally dug it out, the message on the screen read: Hi. I know it's last minute, but is there any chance you're free tonight?

The brunette stopped dead in her tracks, not even caring that there were people walking behind her. She read the message over and over again to make sure that she was actually seeing correctly before typing out a reply. Hi! I have class until 7 but I'll be free after that.

She waited with her heart in her mouth for a response, excitement bubbling up at the prospect of seeing Alex again. She really hoped she wasn't dreaming, or suffering some kind of carbon monoxide induced hallucination, because the idea that he wanted to include her in his plans felt almost too good to be true.

He texted back less than a minute later: Me and the guys are hanging out tonight if you wanted to join us? I mentioned you once and now they're dying to meet you.

Arabella laughed. She moved off to the side so that she was no longer blocking the path and sat down on a vacant bench outside the lecture building, grinning like an idiot as she typed out a reply.

Wow, I'm honoured haha. I would love to join you. Where and what time?

Alex responded after a few seconds: Electric. I can pick you up around 10:30?

The Electric Warehouse was a nightclub in the city centre. Another wave of excitement washed over her at the realisation that she would be seeing Alex again, and her legs turned to jelly just thinking about his darn smile.

Despite feeling anything but, she replied casually. 10:30 sounds good. Can't wait!

-

Arabella was stressed by the time Alex arrived just after half past ten.

She had accidentally napped for too long after class which resulted in her rushing around like a madman trying to shower, make dinner, find an outfit, and fix her hair, all within a two hour window.

She had eventually chucked a pot of pasta on the stove, showered for all of ten minutes, and eaten dinner while touching up her day-old curls with some rollers and hairspray. After that, she had tugged on a black leather skirt and a black mesh top, applied some crimson lipstick, and stolen a gorgeous pair of dark red boots from Sabrina's wardrobe.